University

U. of Wash., agencies reach agreement to extend app

Puget Sound area transit agencies have reached an agreement with the University of Washington to keep the popular transit scheduling software application One Bus Away up and running now that the original developer — a UW graduate student — has moved on to the private sector.

Sound Transit, King County Metro, Pierce Transit and the UW through its Washington State Transportation Center and Department of Computer Science and Engineering will fund up to $150,000 to further develop and maintain the application for 13 months.

The application, available over the Internet, for iPhone and Android devices and as SMS message alerts is available for free and has become a valuable tool for thousands planning transit trips throughout the region. The application tells users when their bus is expected to arrive at their stop in real time.

UW computer science graduate student Brian Ferris and Kari Watkins developed the first versions of One Bus Away as a class project. The project grew into a collection of phone applications and Ferris' Ph.D. project.

Clinton Bench has been named the new fleet & transit director. Before joining UCLA, Clinton served as manager of transit service planning for the Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization and deputy executive director of planning with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

Beginning this fall, the university is replacing the service provided by its Ryan Field Shuttle with the CTA’s #201 Central/Ridge bus route, which will offer university faculty, students and employees with more frequent service, longer service hours, and extended routing.